Birthday Numero Dos

So today was my real birthday and I was able to spend it with my family. Seth went and got us breakfast and let me sleep in. We got to be lazy all morning until about 1:00. Then we had to take showers and get ready to go eat. My parents picked us up and we went to RYAN'S! My favorite. I have always liked going there for lunch because they are never as busy but today it just wasn't that good. They were missing stuff from the bar and the rolls weren't very substantial. Anyway, after we ate, we went to Books-A-Million and browsed for a little while. My mom wasn't feeling very good so we went back to my house. I got to open my presents from my parents, aunts and grammy. I got some really pretty new shirts, some socks, a really comfy nightgown and some secret stash $. My sister even got me a super cute wristlet from Vera.
After we rested for a while, we went fishing. We went to the park, but once we got there, Seth realized he had grabbed the one pole that doesn't have the handle attached. He had it in his truck but we had the other truck. So, we packed up, went home, got the handle and rode up to Rocky Fork. We fished in the creek up there but we had the wrong kind of bait. We saw about 5 brown trout just hanging out but they weren't interested. We fished until it was almost dark then went to my parents for cake. We hadn't eaten dinner yet so we ordered a pizza before we ate cake. It was a heavy buffet, sugary, carby day and it made me very happy :) Happy Birthday!

Birthday Numero Uno

Tomorrow is my real birthday (I'm going to be 24) but now being married, sometimes it is very hard to hide things. When I came home from work today, the door was locked. I didn't have a key with me because Seth was home so I stood and knocked on my own door until he came to open it. As soon as I walked in he took my things from me and laid them down. He covered my eyes and walked me to the living room and said that it was time for my birthday present. When I opened my eyes, this is what I saw.

I was so excited! I saw this set a few weeks ago and since it is just the 2 of us and we live on Main Street, I thought it was perfect for our little front porch. We ate outside the other night and had to sit in our chairs with our plates in our laps because we didn't have a table. Happy Birthday to me from Seth! He does such a good job!

Now that I am part of a larger family, it is also necessary to celebrate things more than once. Seth's dad and stepmom wanted to fix us dinner for my birthday so tonight we went to their house for cube steak, mashed potatoes, corn, carrots, soup beans and biscuits. She even made me brownies for dessert. It was so tasty and after dessert, we played a game of Rummy. Seth and his brother won. I'm terrible at that game. I just can't remember everything people picked up. Anyway, I think I had a pretty good day considering it wasn't even my REAL birthday. Tomorrow we have plans with my parents to go out to eat for lunch. Where are we going you ask? Ryan's!

About a week and a half ago, Seth and I decided that we seriously needed to attempt a lifestyle change. Not a diet mind you because let's just be honest, who does that forever? We reworked things in both a financial way and a health way. We decided that instead of paying for EVERYTHING, and I do mean everything, with a debit card, we would get enough cash out once a week to last us through the week and pay for bills, gas, groceries, etc with our checking account. If there was anything that we needed such as a can of snuff (and I use the term need loosely) It made me sick when I realized how much we had been spending just eating out in the first two weeks of May! Eating out...that brings me to my next point. We also decided that we are going to start making an extreme effort to eat at home instead of going out/eat healthier. Now, we do have our "regular things" like pizza on Fridays with my parents and sometimes on Sunday after church we go out. Oh, and I typically eat at Panera on Tuesdays before my dance class. Anyway, other than those times, we had been eating out ALOT! Not only is it not healthy for us it doesn't exactly help our bank account either.

Last week was the "starter week" and the times you tend to fall off the wagon. But, I must give us credit; we did very well about eating at home. It's a little easier when you only have so much cash to go on and I have to take a lunch to work since I can't leave. We did end up eating out one night because we went to say bye to a friend that was leaving for Kenya (how exciting)! Friday night though, instead of buying pizzas, my mom made the pizza instead. It was way better than delivery anyway.

This week, we have done much better. Sunday evening we went out because we went fishing and it was on the way home and it was late(we did eat lunch at home though). Monday, the holiday, we stayed at home all day and ate sandwiches for lunch and grilled chicken in Italian dressing for dinner (Yum!). Now, here we are on Wednesday and I must say that the turkey sandwich is beginning to get a little old so we are trying to spruce it up a little by making a little extra for dinner so we have some lunch. There is only problem with this is. Take last night for example. We grilled hotdogs for dinner and just made the whole pack so we would have lunch today. I'm not exactly sure how healthy hotdogs are two days in a row.

The next step of this "change" is to learn to cook healthier and make sure that we don't get burned out on the same old same old. Also, included in the next step is more exercise. I will admit that this is difficult in the summer because we are so busy but between mowing lawns, going to dance class and our Y membership, hopefully we will be able to transition to the newer, healthier and hopefully fuller bank account us. Please let me know if any of you have any suggestions for yummy recipes that are good for us and will keep us on the “straight and narrow”.

Holiday

So yesterday started the 3 day weekend. I love holidays just in case I haven't ever mentioned that before. After work Seth and I went to watch our nephew play a little league game. We didn't get to stay for the whole game because it was pizza night at my parents. It was late when we got home and we just slept in today. It was nice to not have anything to do this morning. We had a family picnic/birthday/holiday cookout.

The picnic was up Spivey and we didn't get home until after 5. I started a load of laundry and did some odd jobs and then asked Seth if we could go to the park and go fishing. We packed our stuff and left about 6:30. We hadn't been there for 10 minutes when I got a bite. I have been fishing before and I have gotten many a bite but I have never actually caught a fish that I can remember. I caught my very first fish today plus two more. We had intended to catch and release but these are stock trout and apparently they don't do well when they get stressed. We got the first one off the line and Seth tried to put it back in the water but it wouldn't swim. It died. I felt really bad because I didn't mean to kill it. Luckily Seth had brought a stringer with him so we had a place for it. I caught another one about 20 minutes later and the SAME thing happened. I don't think they were out of the water for more than thirty or forty seconds but they just couldn't make it. Here is me and my first fish.

We ended up letting some people try our bait (power bait) so we had to use worms then. I caught a THIRD fish with a worm and it lived so we threw it back. We hadn't intended to bring any fish home with us so we were dreading cleaning them and putting them up. Luckily, the people that we gave the bait to didn't catch anything. They asked us if we were going to keep the fish and Seth told them they could have them. They were pretty excited aout it. At least they didn't go to waste. Tonight after we got home, we heard the sirens and stood out on the porch to welcome our STATE champs home. Our Blue Devil softball team won the state tournament today so that was very exciting.

Tomorrow is contemporary service at our church and then we are off ALL DAY Monday! I am so excited. Maybe we will go fishing again.

Long Day

Today was a very long day for some reason. Sometimes I go through days that seem like they will never end and today was one of those days...yet here I am on the computer instead of bed. After I got off work today, I came home to a happy husband that had just started mowing our yard. I told him I would mow while he "past tense of weedeat: weedeated/weedate, ???". That took about thirty minutes which wouldn't have been so bad if 1) I was in shape and 2) I wasn't mowing on Main Street and on a hill. We try to be careful about throwing the grass in the road so it is very awkward sometimes. After I mowed ALL the hills at our house, he kindly came over and took the mower from me and told me to go get ready. I had dance class at 8 so I was meeting a friend for dinner.

Jennifer and I have been friends since 6th grade. She only lives in Johnson City yet the last time I saw her was December 31, 2008. Even still, we have the kind of relationship that we just pick up where we left off. We summarize and hit the highlights of the last however many months and move on. I like it. Anyway, we had PANERA!!! My favorite :) After we ate and visited, I ran to KMart to see if I could find a book Seth wanted. After that I went to dance from 8-9 and then went to WalMart to see if they had the book since I couldn't find it at KMart. I finally got home at 10 to no dirty dishes, no laundry to be folded and no dinner mess to clean thanks to my wonderful very helpful husband. That was why my day seemed so long. Whew!Now, it's time for bed. By the way, I am very excited about tomorrow because 1) I get to come home for lunch :) That will give me and extra 10 minutes of sleep in the AM and 2) It will be hump day...the best day besides Friday.

Pancake Dinner

I don't know how many people actually like it, but having breakfast for dinner is one of my favorite meals. We don't do it very often because I don't think about it but tonight was the night. We have started trying to eat at home more because 1) It's much cheaper and 2) The majority of the time it is much healthier. Seth was busy and running errands today and I went to practice after work, then we went for a walk when we both got home so it was 7:00 by the time we were home. I hadn't thought to lay anything out to thaw so we decided pancakes and sausage with milk and juice was much better than a cold turkey sandwich and a bottle of water. Now it's time for pj's and RAW!

Yard Day

I love days like today. The kind of days that you can lay in bed in the morning, slowly wake up, talk to each other and discuss how much you are going to accomplish. We set our alarms today so we could get started early. We went out for breakfast and then went down to the church. We cleaned the church and fellowship hall by 12:30, dropped the trash off at the dump and then were on our way for the fun part. We got to go to the nursery today to pick out our flowers for this year. We have quite a few pots that we have bought over past years so obviously, the more pots you have, the more flowers you have to buy. After going to the nursery and Wal-Mart we ended up with begonias, petunias, impatiens, something called Yugi, a new pair of hedge trimmers, replacement liners for our hanging baskets and a nice big pot for my hydrangea.

We were both starving when we got home so I fixed a sandwich and Seth had leftover pizza. His dad came by and helped us move a cabinet into our house that has been sitting in the carport for almost a month. It stays out of the rain but as much rain as we have been getting, it was starting to get ruined so we had to take it in. Once we got that inside, we started mixing our "dirt". We planted white wave petunias in our hanging baskets, put light purple impatiens in our boxes out front and potted the other flowers in our random assortment of pots. While we were potting, Seth's friend Andy came by to get a fishing pole so while they talked, I used the new hedge trimmers to work on the hedge by Nattie's pen. It didn't get trimmed last year so it was a little wild. It's much harder than it looks with a "non-electric, hand-powered" trimmer. I must say though, it looks pretty good.

I had to be at church at 6 to practice so after I left Seth watered all the plants, swept the porches, put away the last few pieces of firewood we didn't use this year, pulled LOTS of weeds, fed the birds, put out the birdbath and put our buckets out to catch the rain. When I got home, we decided to run to Johnson City since there were some things I wanted to look at. Sears had an electric hedge trimmer on sale and since I discovered the other one is much better for small, single bushes, we got the on sale trimmer for the long rows that we have out front and back by the alley. After Sears, we went to Books-A-Million where Seth bought a new book, then we went to Fuddrucker's for dinner. Yum! It was a long busy day but now it's raining and it's time for bed.

Nattie "helping"... these are her chew toys: A piece of wood, a trash can lid, a brick and a can. She loves to chew on rocks, too.

Daisy Grae pt 2

Today was Daisy's last day with us. Seth's aunt decided to take her and I am thrilled that she went to a good home. Pam picked her up today while I was at work so I told her bye this morning :)

After I posted yesterday, I realized I had bleach but no bathtub cleaner so I went to the store and bought some. While I was there, I bought some kitty litter and a couple cans of soft food. I poured some litter into an Al pie pan, took it into the bathroom and put her in it. She kind of looked at me as if to say "And?..."but then she hunkered down and did her thing. She did #1 and #2 then tried to cover it up. She wasn't very good so I picked her up before she could create a huge mess and cleaned her up.

I took her to my parents house to show her to them before she left. I was holding her and talking to my dad when their cat Baby came up. She started meowing and Daisy went crazy. She was climbing all over looking for this "momma sound". It broke my heart but Baby wanted nothing to do with her. I took her home and put her in her box and she was so good. She was very quiet all night and was still in her box when I got up this AM. I am glad she has a good home and secretly I am glad she is out of our bathroom.

Ice Cream

Tonight we were supposed to go watch our nephew Kristian play a Little League game. Seth's sister Amy and her 2 boys came over to go watch too. Unfortunately, it rained and another team had been waiting it out. They were only in the 2nd inning so they were allowed to finish their game and Kristian's game was rescheduled. I was running behind (as usual) when Seth called me to tell me it was rescheduled. I asked if they wanted to meet somewhere for ice cream since Amy had come all the way over. This was the 2nd time she has come over and the game has gotten rained out. We ended up going to Sonic and getting ice cream for the boys, a milkshake for Amy and Seth and I shared an Oreo blast. It was very tasty! We were able to just sit and visit for a while. It got pretty cool once the sun started going down and the wind was blowing so we didn't end up staying very long but it was still a nice visit.

Daisy Grae pt 1

If there is one thing in this world that really gets to me it is seeing animals hurt. I CANNOT stand to see any animals get hurt, suffer, etc. It kills me. So last night when I got to church, I got out of my car and thought I heard an animal crying. I looked around for a few minutes but went on in. When I was leaving 2 hours later. I saw something small run into a bush. Andrea and I went to go look and we heard what sounded like a kitten crying. I wasn't about to stick my hand in the bush and search for her just in case Momma was there. Andrea thought we should go to the store and buy some food just to see if she would eat it.

By this point, I was a little worried because Momma shouldn't have been gone that long. We ran to Walgreen's and bought a can of food and went back to the church. I called her and she wasn't there anymore but I attempted to meow and we could hear her crying. We walked down the alley and found her behind a building. She wouldn't come to us so Andrea tried to give her the food. She devoured it!!! She was so hungry she ended up eating the ENTIRE can of food! I said I would take her home for the night and keep her until we could find a place for her.

We got her home and warmed some milk for her. I put her in a tomato box with a couple towels and put her in the bathroom. This way, she could get out if she wanted but not ruin anything and if she used the bathroom it would be easy clean up. She cried for a while but settled down in her box and fell asleep. I think this may have been the first time in a few days that her little belly was full and she felt safe. I left the radio on low and she was good until about 3:15 am. I could hear her crying through the vents so I went in to check on her. She must have been hungry so she and I went to the kitchen and heated up some more milk. She drank it and I put her back in the box. She cried for about 5 minutes and fell back asleep.

I woke her up this morning about six when I went into the bathroom to get ready. She laid there and watched me the entire time until I walked out the door. Then, she jumped out of her box and ran after me. I didn't have any food for her so I soaked some bread in milk and heated it. She drank some of the milk and ate a few bites of the soggy bread. Then she crawled back into her box and fell back asleep. She was still there when Seth got up except she had left a little present for him. Bless her heart, she had used the bathroom and then stepped in it and then went exploring in the bathroom. There were poopy paw prints all over and on the side of the tub where she had tried to get in. He cleaned all that up and I am getting ready to go bleach it.

Unfortunately, due to our location on Main St. we cannot keep her. We can't keep her in the house and cats aren't meant to be penned up. We are looking for a home for her so if you or anyone you know are interested PLEASE let me know. I don't want to take her the shelter but I will have to if we can't find her a home. I have attached pictures of her in all her cuteness!

Daisy washing her face at the sink :)

This is the best breakfast I could do

Daisy peeking out of her tomato box

Hip Hop

If any of you have seen recent posts on my facebook you may know that I have started attending a dance class. It is Tuesday nights at 8pm in Johnson City and I go with two friends of mine that I used to work with. The girl that teaches it also works with them. It is a "social dance class"...aka, "I will help you not look like a complete idiot in the club". Well, since I don't frequent many clubs, I mainly go for the exercise and the girlie chatter, plus it is a good reason to have Panera once a week... no worries, it all equals out.

The first session was three weeks ago. We kind of learned some new things but it was more fun than work. Last week, she started teaching us a choreographed song. I did okay, not too sore, not too bad. Well, that was all well and good until this week. She added more stuff and the new moves are things my body was not meant to do. I may have the rhythm but I don't have the flexibility (nor the slenderness needed to attain such odd angles :)). Needless to say, after my extreme effort to contort my body like that, I am very sore today. I am going to practice what we learned tonight with Andrea. Let's hope that I will be able to manuever better and eventually learn to "flow" better. This popping stuff is not attractive.

If anyone is interested in "exercising" with me on Tuesdays, let me know. We are looking for more students. More students = more classes = more practice for the uncoordinated :)

Mother's Day

Yesterday was a very busy but nice day. After Seth went down and unlocked the church, he stopped by McDonald's on his way home and got us each a sausage biscuit. Yum! After church, we decided that instead of trying to fight the crowd we would order pizza. Typically we order pizza on Friday nights with my parents but we were both busy this past Friday and weren't able to so, we got pizza after church instead. We went home and changed clothes because it was so PRETTY outside! After we picked up the pizza, we headed to my parents house. Since the weather was so nice we were able to sit out on the patio and eat lunch. Afterwards, we relaxed for a while and got quite a bit of sun. Seth and I both were pretty red last night.

We got my mom a gift certificate to get her toes done and a Family picture frame with a picture of all six of us at our wedding. Six is including my sister Jennie and her husband, Ben. Even though I am not a real mom yet, I do have my little girl, Nattie. She got me, with some help from her dad, a really pretty yellow flower pot. I'm glad I got it because I won a purple hydrangea at our Ladies Night Out dinner on Saturday.

On a sad note, our youth minister Bart, his wife Sarah and their son Joe had their last Sunday with us yesterday. They are moving back to Kentucky and we are going to miss them terribly. I'm so glad she started a blog :) She made tote bags for some of girls at church for Mother's Day. They had a Burt's Bees lip balm, a notebook with a little note for us, some body cream, a foot stone and a pink rose. I came home and put mine in a little vase with some water and a drop of bleach and it has opened right up. I attached a few pictures of my rose and flower pot.

Catch up on our family

Seth and I got married June 21, 2008. We are approaching our one year anniversary very soon. It's amazing how quickly this first year has gone by. Although many of our friends and people we know start blogs when they find out they are pregnant, this is not why we decided to have one. I (Katie) have quite a bit of family that lives elsewhere in the country. Facebook is a great way to keep up but not everyone has it. Plus I feel like a blog is a more personal look into your lives. Facebook doesn't allow much space for this except in the notes. So, we decided to start a blog for this reason only :)

I graduated from ETSU in December 2007 with bachelor's in corporate finance and investments (I know, pretty exciting). This was the same semester that Seth started back to ETSU as a full-time student. I struggled with finding a job immediately because I had no experience...obviously, since I was a full-time student for the past 4 years. Anyway, I eventually got a job with MSHA working in staffing. I started in March 2008 and worked up until November 2008. I had been offered a job at NFS(Nuclear Fuel Services) and was set to start December 1st. I have been there since then and have almost completed my first six months. I am planning on returning to school this fall (2009) for my teaching certificate in secondary education. It is a 3 semester program that will put me finishing December 2010. It is all on Saturdays for the first two semesters so I can continue to work while Seth is in school. Once everything is said and done, I plan on having a Master's and teaching finance and math to high school students, hopefully right here in East TN.

Seth, after working for almost four years in construction, decided to go back full-time to complete his degree in construction engineering and technology. He is set to graduate May 2010 and we are so excited! School keeps him very busy and I can't wait for him to be finished. Once he is finished and finds a job, we plan on looking for a house and thinking about a family. Right now, he keeps busy with school, outdoor activities (hunting, fishing,etc) and we have a German Shepherd, Nattie, who is always willing to help you spend your free time. She will be 3 this summer and she is the best dog ever.

That is "quick" bring-you-up-to-date on our family.